The New York Rangers have named JT Miller as their next captain. Miller, who was drafted by the Rangers in the first round in 2011, returned to the Rangers in January last season. The Rangers sent Filip Chytil, a 1st round pick and Victor Mancini to Vancouver to reacquire Miller in an attempt to reshape the locker room. While the impact in the room wasn’t immediate, it was clear the new direction for the Rangers had Miller as captain.
Miller replaces the departed Jacob Trouba as the new captain. Trouba and Chris Kreider–who was also traded–were part of the “old guard” and included in Chris Drury’s purge of the existing leadership group. Miller brings emotion and tenacity to the lineup and should be a good change of pace from prior leadership groups. He’s also a different voice from Trouba and Kreider (and perhaps Mika Zibanejad as well), and sometimes you just need a different voice.
Naming JT Miller captain wasn’t a surprise. It was a matter of when, not if.
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